The Carnotaurus, know for its bull like horns, is part of the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History through April. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s “Ultimate Dinosaurs” exhibit is an eye-opening look at the largely unknown dinosaurs that roamed the Southern Hemisphere.
To ensure that visitors have a fun, unique and educational tour, before entering the actual exhibit, a large-screen monitor offers an overview of how the Southern Hemisphere dinosaurs never connected with their brothers and sisters to the north because of a fractured continent 180 million years ago.
“This is a really cool exhibit, because it deals with dinosaurs that you are not really familiar with in North America,” says Lee Hall, preparator in vertebrate paleontology at the museum.
“Way back, there used to be one giant super continent called Pangaea. About 180 million years ago, it fractured. In a video at the entrance of the museum, you can see the continents separating. There were also dinosaurs [in] Antarctica. Because the Earth was much warmer then, it was not covered in ice.”
Before the Pangaea fracture, there was not an ocean to prevent the dinosaurs from roaming east to west or north to south. That meant their gene pool was fairly static. There was little genetic diversity; it was just one big habitat.
Once the continent drifted apart, things started to diverge, which gave rise to Southern Hemisphere dinosaurs and Northern Hemisphere dinosaurs.
White and yellow swatches throughout the exhibit indicate where fossils were found. The yellow swatches indicate the parts of the bones they discovered. The white swatches represent the parts they didn’t find.
Most dinosaur fossils come from North America. Unfortunately, there are no fossils in Ohio. Dinosaurs roamed in area that is now Ohio, but we don’t have any of the rocks preserved where the fossils would be, because glaciers eroded most of that away, says Hall.
A compelling slice of the exhibit is how fossil casts are made from the original. It details the use of rubber to create a mold and how plaster is used to make a replica.
“It’s done to allow other museums to have replicas of the fossils, and since they are extremely fragile, it’s just not safe to send them around the country,” says Hill.
“The original fossils will often be displayed in the museums that discovered them. In cases where they are extremely fragile, they may need special atmospheric conditions to make sure they don’t fall apart.”
Why is there so much French in this exhibit? It turns out the exhibition was originally created by the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. So the placards attached to each display are written in both French and English.
The exhibit includes full-size reconstructions as well as fossils. The skeletal casts come to the museum in four to five pieces. They are fairly light and can be assembled in big chunks. The assembly team consists of museum workers and those with the traveling exhibit. It takes two weeks to put everything together.
This Suchomimus, a dinosaur with a head like a crocodile, is part of the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History through April. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
Suchomimus
The narrow-headed Suchomimus was 31 to 36 feet long and weighed between 2.5 and 5.2 tons. Although it had a short neck, its giant claws and strapping limbs allowed it to survive on small animals and fish.
This Rahonavis, a small feathered dinosaur, is part of the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History through April.Marvin Fong The Plain Dealer
Rahonavis
Rahonavis is was a feathered, bird-like species. All birds alive today evolved from meat-eating dinosaurs. At the time of its discovery, it was hard to determine if this type of species would be identified as a bird or dinosaur. The exhibit displays the creature in a flying motion. No feathers were found with the fossils. But there are areas on it where feathers would have been, just as with birds today.
The Ouranosaurus, part of the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History through April. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
Ouranosaurus
The most conspicuous feature of Ouranosaurus is the large spiked hump on its back. It’s described as a duck-billed dinosaur. It’s a well-known meat-eater from northern Africa. The spines actually become thicker and flatten as they move down its back. The spine length peaks over the forelimbs.
Majungasaurus
The Majungasaurus was a medium-sized meat-eater that was named after a local cultural figure important to Madagascar. The arms are extremely short. It’s as though you cut off the part of the arm that connects the wrist to the elbow. Another distinctive feature is the horns protruding from its skull. Its wide mouth was used for biting large chunks of meat from its prey.
A cast of a leg of an Argentinosaurus, part of the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History through April. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
Argentinosaurus
The Argentinosaurus’ backbone would nearly touch the ceiling of the museum. The dinosaur was the largest to set foot on Earth. It was twice the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex in both length and height. This dinosaur was native to the area that is now Argentina, hence the name.
“Ultimate Dinosaurs” in Kahn Hall at th Cleveland Museum of Natural History. in Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer